Cozad Asset Management Inc. Makes New $225,000 Investment in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in General Dynamics Co. (NYSE:GD) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 867 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GD. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in General Dynamics in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. 86.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on GD shares. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on General Dynamics from $301.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded General Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $335.00 in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on General Dynamics from $280.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $291.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on General Dynamics from $253.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $297.06.

General Dynamics Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GD opened at $287.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $282.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $263.05. General Dynamics Co. has a 52 week low of $202.35 and a 52 week high of $296.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.67.

General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The aerospace company reported $2.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.89 by ($0.01). General Dynamics had a net margin of 7.85% and a return on equity of 16.48%. The business had revenue of $10.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that General Dynamics Co. will post 14.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Dynamics Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. This is a boost from General Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. General Dynamics’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total value of $14,182,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 768,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $218,773,956.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Phebe N. Novakovic sold 49,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.50, for a total transaction of $14,182,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 768,977 shares in the company, valued at $218,773,956.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory S. Gallopoulos sold 13,567 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.51, for a total value of $3,914,215.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 103,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,816,065.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.52% of the company’s stock.

About General Dynamics

General Dynamics Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Aerospace, Marine Systems, Combat Systems, and Technologies. The Aerospace segment produces and sells business jets; and offers aircraft maintenance and repair, management, aircraft-on-ground support and completion, charter, staffing, and fixed-base operator services.